RomanPunks is a retrofuturistic, cyberpunk derivative world-building project inspired by fine art, history and the cryptopunk movement.
A total of 1,000 RomanPunk characters have been frozen in time and minted as Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on the Ethereum, WAX, Polygon and Algorand blockchains.
RomanPunk characters are comprised of commoners and famous individuals based on Roman history, art history and pop culture.
The basis for RomanPunk lore and backstories is exhaustively researched by history/sci-fi buff and co-founder, Punktavian.
All images are drawn by hand by woman artist and co-founder, Cleopunktra, without the aid of AI or generative tools.
RomanPunks came into existence through early minting on OpenSea, promoting on Twitter and building a Discord community through giveaways and engagement. The idea of a cyberpunk-derivative ‘RomanPunk’ theme was in our heads for years, but it was the success of the Cryptopunks that became the catalyst for project conception and launch.
After a hard working first 60 days spent networking and attracting new collectors to RomanPunks, our community had begun to flourish and sales increased. We began to offer our collectors an opportunity to battle their NFTs in a tournament bracket powered by dice rolls.
Encouraged by the tight knit community and the carbon-neutral blockchain with lightning fast and low cost transactions, we launched 'romanpunksio' collection on WAX Blockchain as the first step to expand the backstories of our RomanPunk characters and the baseline for future development of a card game.
RomanPunks integrated with Chainlink Labs to utilize VRF (Verified Randomness Function) to host a giveaway raffle for our holders. We developed a smart contract on Ethereum which guarantees true random number selection on chain and can be used for a wide range of functions that require random selection.
After much anticipation in the community, we released our first WAX NFT card 'pack' through the Neftyblocks platform, which sold out in less than a week.
We launched our Twitch channel and begun building an audience by offering numerous giveaways of WAX NFTs from our collection, as well as giving participants a chance to win RomanPunk ETH NFT airdrops for taking top spot at the end of the 'season'.
As firm believers in a metaverse future and land owners in The Sandbox, we undertook to build the RomanPunk Colosseum on 1x1 land and entered our experience "Gladiator Bloodsport" into a GameJam contest. We will continue to build the Colosseum into a PVP arena and social hub once The Sandbox offers creators the ability to do so.
Thanks to the user friendly tools offered by NeftyBlocks, we launched a comprehensive blending system on WAX, allowing our collectors to blend the common NFTs they earn in our Discord RPG up into Legendary famous NFTs through the use of blending 'coins' that can also be earned on the Discord as reward for helping to promote the RomanPunks project.
We launched the VX collection on Polygon. Each owner of an ETH NFT gets their voxel equivalent airdropped to them, and these NFTs can be redeemed for official NFTs on The Sandbox Marketplace once available.
All 1,000 original, unique 1:1 RomanPunk characters hand drawn by Cleopunktra and minted on OpenSea.
The RomanPunk WAX NFT Trading Card Fighter Pack Series II consists of 3 NFTs randomly selected from over 236 characters.
Upcoming plans for RomanPunks include:
Below is a comprehensive and searchable directory of all 1,000 RomanPunk Characters.
Born in 466 BC in Meroë, much of the life of Baskomanisken is unknown other than they were a vile sorcerer born without eyes who conjured a portal to alternate dimensions, discovered the secret for long life and spent most of it thirsting for blood and glory in gladiator pits across space and time.
Born 1705 AD in Kyoto, Satoshi, a diplomat, discovered an interdimensional portal while on a trip to Rome and never looked back. He now travels across time and space in search of Shangri-la.
Born 2001 AD in Transylvania, Morty lives in an ancient castle and spends all his time immersed in the metaverse, not knowing there is a working interdimensional time portal in an oubliette between the walls.
Born 299 BC in Perinthus, Epa fought with a Celtic war band that invaded Asia and founded Galatia. Epa’s mind and body were often possessed by a 33rd century AD version of herself who plugged in to experience the glory of defeating the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter in the Battle of Elephants.
Born 397 AD in Sirmium, Exene was a war child who spent her youth on the battlefield where she met her husband Alaviv. Together they sacked and pillaged Africa with Genseric’s army until the king, feeling his rule threatened, exiled her through an interdimensional portal to the 20th century.
Born 1998 in Dyrrachium, Dardana is a superstar singer who was abducted by time traffickers and forced to perform in Diocletian’s palace as the Emperor’s personal chanteuse.
Born 2174 AD in Saldae to a patrician Vandal family, Thora is the hotel concierge at the Atlanta Hotel in Neo-Carthage and the enduring wife of the bitter and crippled junkie veteran Wulfric. Thora possesses a quiet strength and a deep sense of loyalty, caught between her disapproval of Wulf’s dangerous extortion schemes and her unwavering support for him. As a result, she provides a stabilizing force and moral compass for her husband while longing for a more peaceful and stable life.
Born 70 AD in Aventicum, Jo is a passionate baker and trailblazing founder of the interdimensional cupcake franchise known as “The Swiss Miss”, whose beloved products are mass produced and enjoyed infinitely across space and time.
Born in 431 AD in Hippo Regius to a Vandal marauder and a Roman nun, Brunhilda was an acrobatic performer pressed into service as a gladiator after all the fighting men were dispatched to sack Rome for the 3rd time.
Born 249 BC in Drepana, Marius is a former centurion who became a dimension hopping vigilante after being enslaved and crucified by alien cyborgs, then forced to watch while his entire village was beheaded. Rescued by Archimedes, he now searches time and space for the extraterrestrial brigands responsible for the atrocity.
Born 681 AD in Toletum, Willi was a monk entombed by invading Caliphate forces in the catacombs, where he discovered an interdimensional portal that led him to the early 21st century AD. Now he resides on Ebusus as a full-time raver and fervent PLUR warrior.
Born in 131 BC in Jutland, Storm was a blacksmith in the disastrous war against the Roman forces of Gaius Marius. After their defeat, his wife, Oda, was enslaved as Marius’ concubine and he was cast into a dimensional portal to serve as a gladiator in a parallel universe of a Roman atomic age.
Born 2175 AD in Xi’xi’an, Mei is a renowned actress known for her ethereal beauty and roles that bridge the gap between the old world and a dystopian future. Her breakout role was The Red Citadel, a retrofuturistic thriller where she portrays a noblewoman framed for corruption in a cyberpunk empire. She followed this with Ironflower, an action epic where she plays a rebel leader using ancient martial arts to battle cyborg invaders. Now a beloved figure in global revolutionary movements, Mei keeps pushing boundaries, using her films to take bold shots at the Empire and challenge the powers that be.
Born 2103 AD in Neo-Galway, Saoirse is an interdimensionally famous metaverse model, actress and notorious recluse who is known to send AI robot clones of herself to IRL social events while she dwells in her digital domain.
Born 88 AD in Frisia, Tilly witnessed the death of her parents by the orders of Trajan. With the help of a sympathetic centurion, she crossed dimensions learning the art of revenge.
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